1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to video gaming apparatus, methods of play in video gaming apparatus, and novel features used in the playing of video games, especially video games with bonus features.
2. Background of the Art
Wagering games (e.g., roulette, craps, slots, video poker, table card games, and gaming machines or computers using gaming software), including those intended primarily for play in casinos, should provide players with a sense of participation and control, the opportunity to make decisions, and reasonable odds of winning, even though the odds favor the casino, house, dealer or banker. The game must also meet the requirements of regulatory agencies.
Wagering games, including wagering games for casino play, with multiple wagering opportunities are known. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,861,041 and 5,078,405 (both to Jones et al.) disclose methods and apparatus for progressive jackpot gaming, respectively. The former patent discloses that a player may make an additional wager at the beginning of a hand, the outcome of the additional wager being determined by of a predetermined arrangement of cards in the player's hand. U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553 (to Suttle and Jones) discloses a modified version of a five card stud poker game.
Additional symbols may be added to the usual means of playing a game to increase wagering opportunities. This is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,107 (to Boylan et al.). Somewhat similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,757 (to Holmberg) discloses a board game and apparatus, including a way to allow the player to make a choice with respect to several different alternative types of game play and risk bearing strategies. The alternative play is based on providing cards with additional symbols and therefore, a new set of odds. The game and apparatus disclosed by Holmberg requires new sets of rules, relatively complicated procedures and time for a player to learn the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,429 (to LeVasseur) involves the dealer playing multiple hands against a player's single hand, whereby the number of hands played in the same amount of time is increased.
The desired positive attributes of wagering games outlined above are in large measure provided by the method and apparatus for a wagering game in accordance with the present invention. The game is uncomplicated, exciting and provides the opportunity for players to make multiple wagers, choices regarding those wagers and the possibility of a separate wager and entry fee for a bonus pay-off and a super jackpot pay-off.
The quest for gaming instrumentalities which will provide greater game interest and entertainment among players who wager is an ongoing odyssey. Gaming instrumentalities, particularly “progressive” type slots machines, have provided a two-tiered system in an attempt to continuously stimulate players to play a primary game in hopes of winning an extraordinary and large progressive jackpot. However, these types of gaming machines do not vary significantly from their predecessors and can fail to maintain player stimulus as a result of the lack of interaction the player has with the game in attempting to win the progressive jackpot. As a consequence, players can become disinterested in the gaming experience and gain a perception of being a passive observer of the progressive jackpot. Furthermore, after a progressive jackpot has built up to an extraordinary level and has been awarded to a player, there is a sharp drop off in the stimulus provided to players by these progressive types of machines until the pool of money builds back up.
Wagering games, and especially video wagering games that comprise both a first and second tier of games are also known on stand alone machines or in conjunction with a bank or group of machines. For example, the patent to Marnell, II (U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,057) teaches the use of a poker game or reel game for the primary game and a bingo type game as a secondary game. Certain outcomes from the primary game are reflected in the secondary game and, upon the occurrence of orienting the reflected values from the first game to the second game in a pre-agreed upon pattern (resulting in bingo), a secondary award is made to one or more players responsible for the “bingo”. Thus, these types of games also fail to maintain player stimulus as a result of the player being a passive observer of the secondary game.
It is well known in the gaming industry that bonus games attract and keep players at a gaming machine. The bonus game is typically a gaming machine or a random selection device having a gaming play that is enabled by a bonus qualifying signal from an underlying or primary gaming machine. A wide variety of bonus games, features, and devices are known, with a non-comprehensive list of some of those games being set forth below. Other bonus games include an additional game feature contained within a single gaming machine.
The conventional WHEEL OF GOLD® and WHEEL OF FORTUNE® slot casino games incorporate a single play bonusing feature. A rotating wheel is activated by the player depressing a bonus spin button when certain indicia appears on the reels of the slot game and is used to award bonus payouts in a spin of the wheel. A separate multiplier may be used to multiply the bonus payouts. After the bonus spin, play resumes in the underlying gaming machine. These games are commercially available from Anchor Gaming and International Game Technology, respectively and are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,823,874 and 5,848,932.
In EP 0 874 337 A1, “Gaming Machine with Bonus Mode” published Oct. 10, 1998 and owned by WMS Gaming, Inc., a bonus game involving multiple plays is presented for an underlying gaming machine such as a slot machine. Here a Bernoulli trial procedure is used to allow a player to repeatedly play a high odds bonus game (such as another slot game) and receive awards until a losing combination occurs (i.e., winning until losing). The hit rate in the bonus game is greater than 50% (preferably higher than 70%) which results in a much lower hit rate in the underlying game. This hit rate difference causes the player to endure the low hit rate of the underlying slot game in order to qualify for the high hit rate of the bonus game. The length of the bonus game is longer when the hit rate for the bonus game is higher. This bonus feature allows a player to win each bonus game and collect winnings until the player receives a losing combination (i.e., losing until winning). This is a variation of WMS Gaming's earlier bonus feature trademarked JACKPOT STAMPEDE™ which allowed the player in the bonus game to continually spin the bonus reels until receiving a winning combination. The recognized shortcoming with this earlier bonus feature was that the player's expectation of receiving meaningful bonus awards is crushed since the first winning combination to be hit is statistically a small award (i.e., a cherry). Other high odds and “win till you lose” bonus games are found in UK Patent Application GB 2 180 087 A published Mar. 18, 1987 and GB 2 084 371 A published Apr. 7, 1982.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,207 describes a spinning reel slot machine that gives a multiplied payoff when certain conditions are fulfilled. Wins that include a special symbol on the pay line are multiplied by an incremental multiplier when the machine is in a particular mode. A counter value is increased by one every time a second special symbol appears on the visible sections of the reels. Whenever the counter reaches a predetermined value, the counter is reset and the multiplier is increased. Whenever a multiplied payout occurs, the multiplier is reset to a minimum value. An “XFACTOR” may act as a wild card for reel slot symbols and may also include other functions in the play of the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,384 describes an embodiment of the invention in which the player initiates a round of a reel slot type machine game (often referred to as a “spin” or “play”) by pulling the slot machine handle or pushing a button and waiting for the reels to stop spinning. If a row of common symbols appears in the primary game, and the symbols may include wild card symbols such as Jokers, the player has a win. In variants of the primary game where there are multiple rows of symbols displayed, if a column or diagonal line of common symbols appear in the primary game, the player has a win or gains some other game advantage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,315 discloses a card game that may be played in video format where a player makes a wager. After three cards are dealt face down to the player and two cards are dealt face up to a dealer, the player chooses either to continue the risk of the wager, surrender and forfeit half of the wager, double the wager or triple the wager when the two face up cards are a pair. When the player does not choose to surrender, the player is dealt two additional cards. The player designates one of his cards as a Joker whereby the player has a Poker hand comprised of four cards and a Joker. The dealer is dealt three additional cards. The dealer designates one of his cards as a Joker whereby the dealer has a Poker hand comprised of four cards and a Joker. A payout is made to the player when the player's hand has a rank that is at least as high as the rank of the dealer's hand. The player may participate in ajackpot by contributing money to ajackpot pool prior to cards being dealt. A payout from the pool is based upon the rank of the player's hand.
U.K. Patent Application GB 2 222 712 A published Mar. 14, 1990 sets forth a slot machine main game interconnected with a slot machine secondary game. The player has the option of pushing button 18 which debits his credit meter by the appropriate amount to play the secondary game such as another slot game. Hence, the player must gamble an amount in order to play the bonus game.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,658 describes a device and method for playing a primary and a secondary bonus game. The device includes a primary game device and a secondary game device having a display having five concentrically arranged wheels each having an indicia of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten and a wild symbol. In response to receiving a pre-selected bonus outcome during play of the primary game device, the secondary game device is actuated to rotate the wheels and randomly present an indicia from each wheel at a pay line as a secondary outcome. The outcome of the secondary game device can be used as an additional award or to multiply the award for the bonus outcome in the primary game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,057 pertains to an electronic gaming apparatus and method therefore wherein each play in the bonus is the result of successive underlying game play. The invention teaches the use of an electronic primary gaming device such as a poker or a slot machine and an electronic secondary gaming device based on bingo. When a winning combination such as three queens appears in the primary game, a space in the bingo matrix is turned over to reveal a bingo symbol. Play continues on the primary game until a winning sequence occurs in the bingo game. The right to play the bingo secondary game does not occur unless the player inserts three or more coins into the primary game. Play continues until the game achieves a bingo in which case the player receives a prize.
UK Patent Application GB 2181 589 A published Apr. 27, 1987 pertains to a slot machine having a jackpot feature whereby the prize value is transferred between separate jackpot displays as successive games are played. Some of the reel symbols are overprinted with a number and when that number lands on the pay line, it is used to climb a ladder. The ladder enables the player to obtain one or all of the prizes in the upper portion of the slot machine. For example, if the overlaid number lands the player on a first playing level, then the player receives all three prizes. If the overlaid number lands the player on a second level, then the player can select which one of the three prizes to receive. If the player lands on a third level, then it becomes a game of skill to select which of the three prizes he selects. Finally, if the player lands on a fourth level, then the prize is randomly selected. The prize may also be randomly doubled. U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,603 sets forth a plurality of slot machines interconnected to an electronic controller which displays a separate race game. Each time a particular predetermined combination of indicia appears in the display of a particular slot machine, a signal is generated from the slot machine that advances the racing element through a particular predetermined distance. If the player's horse reaches the finish line before a timer display times out, then the slot player wins an additional prize. The players in this patent are not racing against each other, but against a clock.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,534 discloses a bingo format of game with a wild feature. A bingo game is played by a plurality of players employing a table having respective player stations thereabout. The game permits each player to select each of his or her numbers to be matched during play by randomly drawn numbers, including a wild designation which each player may deem to match one of his or her selected numbers, and the game is permitted to progress at multiple levels of play notwithstanding the occurrence of prior bingos in the game being played.
Many video gaming systems provide wild symbols, almost always wild cards, in the play of their games. Examples of wild symbol games include, but are not limited to, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,007,066; 5,882,259; 5,823,873; 5,868,618; 5,868,619; 5,816,915 and 5,489,101.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,228 describes an improved stud poker game that requires no decisions from the player after the initial bet is placed. Each band has one guaranteed wild card that appears at a card position which is predetermined, and shown to the player, before the player's cards are dealt. In addition to the one guaranteed wild card, all like-valued cards in the hand are also wild. Also, there are a number of novel and entertaining ways to determine the wild card position. The game is adaptable to both video play and table play formats.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,065 describes a casino table card game where a player, after making a wager, is dealt, face-up, a hand of five cards that is placed in a player-hand area. The player also receives a solitary card, which is dealt face down in a single-card area. The player then has a chance to improve the ranking of the five-card hand by discarding up to five cards and replacing them with an equal number of new cards. After the player rearranges the five-card hand, the solitary card is turned face-up and all the cards in the player's hand that have the same face value as the solitary card are designated wild. The ranking winnings are calculated according to a statistical pay table.
Australian Patent Application No. 18618/97, filed 28 Feb. 1997, and published 16 Sep. 1997 and Australian Petty Patent No. 686556, filed 29 Oct. 1997 and granted 5 Feb. 1998, both titled “Slot Machine With Roaming Wild Card” and assigned to Aristocrat Leisure Industries Party LTD describes a slot machine and method play in which there may be a triggering predetermined event in a reel-slot type (including video formats) wagering game. The triggered event is the display of a wild card symbol in a first display location. The wild card symbol is then progressively moved, to one space at a time to a predetermined number of other display positions. The display event of the wild card may include a symbol (a penguin is described in the patent application) that ‘walks’ from space to space on the reel, with any awards determined for the single wild symbol being positioned at each location on the screen. Among the most detailed sequence of events employed in one embodiment comprise the steps of showing a triggering symbol to initiate the progressively moving wild symbol feature. The number of lines and amount of wager are carried over. Sounds accompany the progressively moving wild symbol feature. The moving wild symbol changes back-and-forth between images (e.g., an iceberg and a penguin). The win meter increments for each partial pay feature.